Splendor Player Counts, Variants, and Expansions

Splendor is a small game that has grown a family: two expansion boxes, a two-player version, and a Marvel edition. Each is good. None replaces the original, and the original changes more than you might expect just by changing how many people sit down.

How the game changes by player count

The base game plays 2 to 4. The supply and the nobles scale with the count. Gold stays at 5.

• Two players: the tightest supply. Taking two of a color needs all four in the supply, so it is often not possible. Gold goes further with only two people reserving, and every card you take from your one opponent is a swing. It plays like a duel of nerves.
• Three players: a balance of planning and surprise.
• Four players: the table changes a lot between your turns. Plans built around one card break often, and noble races get crowded. Flexible engines win.

If your group loves careful planning, try two. If it likes a busier table, play four.

Variants

The base rulebook has no variants. Space Cowboys publishes a tournament guide that adds a 45-minute time limit for event play, and the tournament lesson at Level 3 covers it. For more variety, the expansions are the place to look.

Both expansion boxes hold two modules each. You can play any module alone with the base game, or combine them.

The Silk Road

The Silk Road adds two modules and one extra noble.

• The Cities. Nobles go back in the box, and 3 City tiles come out. Each City asks for a number of prestige points plus a set of cards, much like a noble. Reaching 15 no longer ends the game. Meeting a City’s requirements does: finish the round, and if several players qualify, the most points wins.
• The Trading Posts. Five stacks of tiles, each with a requirement and a power. Meet a requirement at the end of your turn and take that tile, one per turn. Powers include taking a free piece after each purchase and making each Gold you spend count as two gems of the same color.

The Cities gives a familiar game a new finish line. The Trading Posts rewards planning which colors you build.

The Sun Never Sets

The Sun Never Sets adds two more modules and another noble.

• The Orient. 30 new development cards in three small decks. Two of each level sit face up beside the normal rows. Many have special powers, such as taking a second card for free or taking on the color of a card you own.
• The Strongholds. Each player has 3 Strongholds. Every time you buy a card, you place or move one of yours onto a card on the table, or knock a rival’s Stronghold off a card that holds only one. A card with your Strongholds on it can be bought or reserved only by you. Put all 3 on one card, and you can buy it after your normal action.

The Orient adds variety without much rules weight. The Strongholds add direct conflict, which suits groups who like to get in each other’s way.

If you own an older copy, these four modules first came together in a single box, Cities of Splendor, released in 2017.

Splendor Duel

Splendor Duel is a standalone game for two players, designed by Bruno Cathala and Marc André. It keeps the gem taking and card buying, adds a shared board, privilege scrolls, and royal cards, and gives you three different ways to win. If your Splendor is mostly a two-player game, this is the box to look at.

Its expansion, The Counterfeiters, adds Counterfeiter cards and Glassware tokens that bend the rules.

Splendor Marvel

Splendor Marvel is the same core idea with Marvel heroes, for 2 to 4 players. The finish changes: you need at least 16 Infinity Points, at least one bonus of each color, and a green token to assemble the Infinity Gauntlet and trigger the end. It is a good pick for a group that loves the theme.

Starting from scratch

If you do not own Splendor yet, the current base game is the 10th anniversary edition with new art. Everything in this course follows its rules.

How to choose

• Your group loves the base game as is: play it at every count before buying anything.
• You want a new goal: The Silk Road, starting with The Cities.
• You want more interaction: The Sun Never Sets, starting with The Strongholds.
• You mostly play with two: Splendor Duel.
• Your group loves Marvel: Splendor Marvel.

Our piece on whether expansions are worth it has a broader way to decide, for this game and every other one on your shelf. And if Splendor is often your date-night game, our list of two-player board games has more that shine at two.